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Afternoon Roundup: Today's Top Stories

Your Foolish midday market update.

AtThe Motley Fool, we know our readers like to be informed. We have scouted out today's most relevant news items and brought them to you all on one page. We hope you find this midday edition informative and useful.

Apple falls behindSurprisingly, there is a market that technology giant Apple(Nasdaq: AAPL) does not dominate: India. The largest smartphone maker has been having trouble selling its usually coveted iPhone. The company shipped 62,043 devices to India in the quarter ended June 30, which accounted for about 2.6% of all smartphone shipments in the country during that period. Apple trailed Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) 15%, Samsung's 21%, and Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) 46% of shipments.

Apple's rivals seem to have products that are better tailored for the Indian communications network. In the country, 3G technologies have only begun to be implemented, making the iPhone experience difficult to attain. On the other hand, RIM's BlackBerry has amassed popularity mainly for its BlackBerry Messenger and a more network-friendly operating system. With smartphone shipments to India poised to increase eightfold by 2015, RIM hopes to exploit its lead over Apple by extending distribution to about 80 cities. RIM's success in India is a contrast to the company's overall performance, where its stock has plummeted about 65% this year. Read more atBloomberg.

Citigroup considers overhaulCitigroup(NYSE: C) is considering whether to shake up management in its Japan operations after a regulatory investigation found alleged issues with disclosures. Though no decisions have been made, the bank is considering a restructuring at the top in hopes of including more Japanese managers. Within the changes, the bank is considering adding a chief operating officer for the Japan business and better oversight from New York headquarters.

Some of the allegations include failing to provide mutual fund investors with prospectuses in a timely manner. The future for banking unit CEO Darren Buckley may be uncertain if the shakeup forces him to step aside. Buckley had also managed the bank's Asia-Pacific credit card business and was COO at Citibank Thailand. This has not been the bank's first run-in with Japanese authorities; they forced the company to close its private bank. The regulator said the bank had failed to prevent transactions that may have been linked with money laundering and failed to tell consumers the risk of some of its products. Read more atThe Wall Street Journal.

Taking matters into its own handsFrustrated with the lack of success the U.S. government has had in creating jobs, the founder and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, has decided to take matters into his own hands. To help spark the creation of jobs, Schultz announced his company will begin a nationwide fund called "Create Jobs for USA," which will accept donations to later use as loans for small-business owners.

Schultz criticized the lack of leadership in Washington, but made it clear he has no political ambitions. The fund is based on the idea that small businesses are the engine pushing the economy, and at this time, they need capital in order to increase hiring. People who donate $5 will receive a wristband with the word "Indivisible" on it. Schultz said every $5 donation would create $35 in financing for a local business. The company will kick in $5 million and pay for the administrative costs for the fund and wristbands. Labor figures are due to come out Oct. 7, and unemployment is expected to remain at 9.1% despite all-time-low interest rates. Read more atReuters.

A new news partnershipYahoo!News (Nasdaq: YHOO) and ABC News have announced a new content deal to share news stories and Web video series. Both websites will have editorial independence but will share content and have integrated bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. The deal could be beneficial for both companies. ABC News, which has historically lagged behind major news networks in Web traffic, could be aided by Yahoo!'s stature as the news website with the most unique visitors. For a struggling Yahoo!, the deal will bring names like Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric to its content. The two companies have had a video sharing arrangement since 2005.

The deal comes after an announcement about Alibaba Group's interest in buying Yahoo!. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma said his company had been approached by a private equity firm to talk about the possible acquisition, but no offers seem to have been made. Experts worry about security and privacy issues if China-based Alibaba were to take over. Read more atThe New York TimesandThe Wall Street Journal.

So there you have it, the top financial stories for this afternoon. If you are interested in getting all the news and commentary on these stocks sign up to My Watchlisthere – it's free!